Foul-prone Tarik Black, Jamari Traylor to be tested in KU basketball's game against Stanford

It’s one of the most important lessons Black has learned during his 10 months at KU.

"Every time my hands are below the waist … I could put them behind my back. As long as they’re down, I’m going to get a foul," Black said with a smile.

There perhaps has never been a more important game for Black to follow the mantra as Sunday’s 11:15 a.m. tip against 10th-seeded Stanford in the round of 32.

KU, which has been blessed all season with a deep frontcourt, suddenly finds itself thin at center. Freshman Joel Embiid will miss his sixth straight game with a stress fracture in his back, while senior reserve Justin Wesley has a severely sprained ankle that could keep him from suiting up.

That leaves the Jayhawks short on big men as they go up against Stanford, which has four starters above 6-foot-6 and two that are 6-10 or taller.

"You’re not seeing that too often in college," Black said. "Those are NBA team numbers."

The injuries to Embiid and Wesley leave KU especially vulnerable. If both are unavailable, KU has just two players left who play center as their natural position: Black, who is averaging a foul every 4.8 minutes, and 6-10 redshirt freshman Landen Lucas, who has played just 22 combined minutes in the Jayhawks' last seven games.

It doesn’t help that drawing fouls has been a strength for Stanford’s front line. The Cardinal ranks 70th nationally in offensive free-throw rate, an advanced measure that tracks how many free throws a team takes per 100 field-goal attempts.

"It’s not necessarily something we’re going to intentionally focus on," said Stanford forward Dwight Powell, who leads the team with 5.7 fouls drawn per 40 minutes, "but I think that’s a by-product of just making good, tough, physical plays and smart plays."

After playing one of the shortest teams in the tournament in Eastern Kentucky, KU gets one of the tallest teams in Stanford — a squad that ranks sixth nationally in Ken Pomeroy’s "average height" measure.

"It’d be harder to play small in this game," KU coach Bill Self said. "Yeah, it (avoiding fouls) is going to be an important part of the game."

If Black does get into foul trouble, it would leave Self with a tough decision. Does he force Jamari Traylor or Perry Ellis into the 5 spot? Doing that against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament crippled KU offensively as the Cyclones were able to sag Traylor’s defender into the lane to double- and even triple-team Ellis.

Or does Self go to the less-experienced Lucas, who has shown flashes this year of being able to body up against big teams like New Mexico and Texas Tech?

"Hopefully guys don’t get in any foul trouble, but if there is any, I’m hoping that coach has confidence to go to me, and I can come out and perform," Lucas said. "This is definitely a lineup where I feel like I’ve proven I can do well."

Black, who lost his starting role early in the season partly because of foul issues, isn’t the only KU player who is prone to whistles.

Jamari Traylor is right behind Black, averaging a foul every 6.8 minutes. In fact, this is the most foul-prone team in Self’s 11 seasons at KU, ranking 276th in defensive free-throw rate. A Self-led team has finished worse than 150th just one time before this year.

"We don’t want to hurt the team, so everybody’s got to be out there and play the best they can," Traylor said. "You can’t do that when you have fouls."

Once again, it all starts with Black, who's battled the issue from the start.

Back in October, the 6-9 senior remembered feeling great about his first exhibition game after he contributed seven points and 11 rebounds in a 97-57 victory against Pitt State.

There was only one problem: He played just 13 minutes because of foul trouble, and afterward, KU’s coaches only talked to him about how much more he could have provided.

Since then, Black has made sure to keep his hands on his mind.

"If I keep them up in the air," Black said, "I’ve found out that works well for me."

Contact Jesse Newell @Jessenewell on Twitter.

#10 STANFORD VS. #2 KANSAS

Tipoff: 11:15 a.m. Sunday, Scottrade Center, St. Louis

Line: KU by 6

TV/Radio: CBS WIBW (13.1)/WIBW-AM (580)

Topeka Jayhawk Club watch party: Lazy Toad

Next: If KU wins, it will face Dayton/Syracuse in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Memphis

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Stanford (22-12, 10-8 Pac-12)

P Player Ht. Cl. Pts. Reb.

G Chasson Randle 6-2 Jr. 18.9 3.5

G Anthony Brown 6-6 Jr. 12.6 5.0

F Josh Huestis 6-7 Sr. 11.3 8.2

F Dwight Powell 6-10 Sr. 13.9 6.8

C Stefan Nastic 6-11 Jr. 7.1 2.8

Kansas (25-9, 14-4 Big 12)

P Player Ht. Cl. Pts. Reb.

G Naadir Tharpe 5-11 Jr. 8.6 5.1*

G Wayne Selden Jr. 6-5 Fr. 9.9 2.7

G Andrew Wiggins 6-8 Fr. 17.4 5.9

F Perry Ellis 6-8 So. 13.6 6.6

C Tarik Black 6-9 Sr. 5.1 3.8

*assists

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